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The Kin
'Time Line' 'Origins' The Kin are a society within the empire, first brought together by the the Dark King Isidore. Before the rise of Isidore the Kin were merely scattered thieves, liars and beggars, but Isidore changed that. Isidore created a following and siezed control of the Ten Ways Cordon (The first and only criminal leader to do so). From then on Isidore's power only grew as he united the collective darkers into the Kin, a criminal organisation large enough to shadow the Empire itself. And they noticed. 'Fall of the King' The Emperor realising the growing threat of the Kin to his power, sent his personal guard The White Sashes to dismantle this shadow empire. Killing Isidore and taking no prisoners, they slaughtered the Kin mercilessly until they retreated into the shadows, defeated but not destroyed entirely. 'Modern Day (Among Thieves)' The Kin regrew but never to anything more than a fraction of its former self. The Grey Princes are the closest thing the Kin has to Isidore, manipulating the smaller crime bosses to suit their mysterious agendas. Uprightmen run large criminal organisations employing lesser Kin to tighten their control over the various cordons whilst fighting for power amongst themselves. 'Types of Kin' *Grey Princes - Powerful Kin who operate from the shadows, similar to an Uprightmen but not always with a distinct organistion. Most Kin will try to disassociate themselves from them for fear of winding up dead. Notable examples include: Solitude, Shadow, the Dance Mistress, Longreach, the Piper's Son, Crook Eye, Blazon and most recently Drothe. *Uprightmen- Crime bosses who control various cordons and employ lesser Kin to do their dirty work for them. Lesser kin will normally work for an Uprightman for pay or protection. Notable Examples include: Nicco and Kells. * Noses - These Kin specialise in gaining information and fitting it together, whether to sell on for profit or to present to their boss. Noses are split into three distinct types: Wide, Narrow and Long. Wide noses work only for themselves and hand over their findings to the highest bidder . Narrow noses work for a specific boss and present their findings directly to them, which will normally lead them to being better off than a regular wide Nose. A long Nose is a double agent, pretending to work for one organisation when really they report to another boss, feeding them information directly from inside an enemy organisation. Naturally and Long nosing is the most dangerous of the three and requires abilities of subtlety and deception superior to that of other noses, as Drothe says "You typically don't find out someone's doing the Long Nose until he turns up floating in the harbour." Notable Examples include: Drothe *Blades - These Kin are trained assassins, though most blades use traditional weapondry some have been known to use glimmer. Notable examples include: Tamas and Task *Mouths - Mouths are magic (Glimmer) users, who will often sell their services for a great deal of money, making them available to only the more wealthy clientele. Mouths may either use their powers in direct combat, which gives them a great advantage over melee fighters, or they may create "Portable Glimmer" in the form of accessories which people untrained in the ways of magic can use. Notable Examples include: Jelem and Shadow. *Arms - Arms are the muscle in a criminal organisation forming the main brunt of an Uprightmans forces. They are most commonnly employed as bouncers for their Uprightmen when not being involved as soldiers. *Cutters - Cutters are Arms specialised in bladed weapons. *Degans - Degans are an ancient order of incredibly skilled mercinaries who take names based on metals e.g. "Iron Degan". They will offer their services in the form of an "oath". The Degan will agree to carry out a service for the other party in return for them carrying out a service in return. If the Degan dies before the Oath is fulfilled the Oath transfers to the entire order, meaning that the 2nd partie's service goes to whoever takes advantage of the Oath first. It is not known exactly what happens if the Oath is broken but most people believe their is a grave consequence for doing so. *Agonymen - These Kin are torture specialists, collectively known as "The Brothers of Agony". Notable examples include: Shatters. *Oaks - Oaks are hired body guards, usually working for a leader who will report directly to their patron. Notable examples include: Fowler Jess, Scratch, Roma and Sylos.